Cortical cerebral blood flow in ageing: effects of haematocrit, sex, ethnicity and diabetes

ConclusionASL-derived CBF values in women, non-European ethnicities and individuals with diabetes are overestimated if calculations are not appropriately adjusted for individual Hct.Key Points•CBF quantification from ASL using a fixed Hct of 43.5%, as recommended in the ISMRM white paper, may lead to erroneous CBF estimations particularly in non-European and female subjects.•Individually measured Hct values improve the accuracy of CBF estimation and, if these are not available, an adjusted value according to gender, ethnicity or diabetes status should be considered.•Hct-corrected ASL could be potentially important for CBF threshold decision making in the fields of neurodegenerative disease and neuro-oncology.
Source: European Radiology - Category: Radiology Source Type: research